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5/9/09

Mercedes-Benz used to be able to charge whatever it wanted for its luxury cars because, well, it could. But times have clearly changed, with formidable competition coming not just from BMW, Audi, and Cadillac, but also from Lexus, Infiniti, and even Hyundai’s compelling Genesis. Add to that an economic crisis that has even fancy folks hoarding their dollars, and the luxury-sedan picture is one where even Mercedes-Benz has to get aggressive about the pricing of its products.

And so the $49,475 base price of the V-6–powered 2010 E350 sedan, which represents a massive $4600 drop in price from 2009, should be of no surprise. Still, the huge price reduction is noteworthy, especially considering the new standard equipment such as Attention Assist, driver knee and front pelvis airbags, and full-panic Pre-Safe automatic emergency braking system.